Two new microviridin-type peptides were isolated from the freshwater cyanobacterium Nostoc minutum (NIES-26), which we named microviridin G and H. Their structures were shown to be 1 and 2 respectively, on the basis of 2D NMR data and chemical degradation. These peptides inhibited elastase potently. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.